SS2 Food - SS2 is indeed a popular area for cafe hoppers which normally serves Pizza, Burgers and Pasta besides coffee and cakes but this recently open cafe, SoloMen Cafe in SS2 is rather unique in a way. Instead of serving these standard cafe dishes; SoloMen Cafe serves Japanese popular dishes.
SoloMen Cafe which is located at 16, Jalan SS2/24, Petaling Jaya, 47300 Selangor has its origin from the popular Ramen Tei Japanese Restaurant in Shah Alam which has a history of more than 20 years serving Japanese dishes. SoloMen Facebook
The Chef at the SoloMen Cafe has mastered the skills to make its own Ramen; that is consistent and have a chewy and springy texture. Not many Ramen shops make its' own Ramen as it is quite a tedious task but it ensures the consistent quality of the Ramen that it serves.
Solomen Cafe concept is a very Internet friendly cafe; besides having a fast Internet access, there are many power sockets which come equipped with USB charging enabling people to work in the cafe.
The first dish for our review is the Pan Fried Gyoza (RM11.90). I am not a real fan of Gyoza as I find that not many chefs have gotten the right balance in terms of the gyoza skin and its filling. At SoloMen, we were told that the Gyoza skin is in-house made too, while the filling has been marinated. So, if you just taste the Gyoza without any sauce; you will be able to taste its' natural flavour. At other restaurants, the sauce will come with sho-yu but here the concoction is made up of chilli oil, imported vinegar and sesame seed.
For fans of fried Japanese dishes; can order the Tonkatsu (RM20.90) which is a Deep Fried marinated Pork Chop with bread crumbs. The outer layer was fried to a crisp while the meat texture which was marinated was still juicy and went well with the sweet sesame sauce that came along.
One of the thing about SoloMen Cafe, their Japanese dishes has some Chinese influence in it as there are places in Japan which serve these dishes and our next dish which is Hoikoro (RM16.90) is one such dish. This dish looks like the Chinese stir fried vegetables with sliced pork but instead of using oyster sauce which the Chinese do, it is using a miso paste. The miso taste is not very strong but does blend in with the condiments. Best eaten with a bowl of white rice which you can order.
After our side orders, we move on to the Ramen, here we got an opportunity to taste 3 Ramen; the first which to me was the best was the Negi Miso Ramen (RM20.90). When the Ramen was laid on the table, it looks quite plain with thin strips of Cha Siew and leek, but upon tasting the broth, it has a thick strong taste and texture which went perfectly with the in-house made Ramen. Partnering with the finely sliced leek adds a complimentary taste to the broth.
Our second order of Ramen; is the Tonkotsu Ramen (RM20.90). Before our order of this Ramen, we were told by the Chef, that their version of this popular soup based is different from those served at other restaurants; in that the soup based is not the typical thick and strong meaty flavour but rather a more subtle taste which is boiled in low flame. It is also topped with a boiled egg, seaweed and slice Cha Siew. Another notable difference is the use of chopped preserved sweet vegetable that the Chef has added which infused a totally different taste to the Ramen.
Our last noodle is the Gomoku Hiyashi Chuka (RM18.90) which is a cold noodle. The condiment which was sweet corn, sliced cucumber, sliced Cha Siu, sliced artificial crab meat and vegetables are layout in a nice round pattern. The Ramen is served with chilled vinaigrette sho-yu broth.
After the Ramen session, we move on to taste the Don (rice) dishes, the first of which is the Hokkaido Buta Don (RM22.90). The sliced pork; are first pan fried and then coated with the special in-house made; sweet sauce which was perfect with the white rice. It has that smoky taste and its aroma alone was sufficient for you to drool on this simple rice dish. This is a very popular dish in Hokkaido; that is why it is aptly named.
Our last main dish is the Beef Gyudon (RM24.50). This is another one of the Japanese popular dishes. So, we have gotten to taste after all the pork dishes that we had earlier. Loaded with chunks of onion in a homemade ginger sauce, it has all the flavours that one expect from this dish.
For desserts, you can choose from the variety of cakes that are available at the counter or you may choose their imported ice-cream. We decided on the Matcha With Azuki (RM10.90). Besides the green tea ice -cream and azuki, this dessert came with corn flakes chips that add a crunchy texture to the ice-cream. We like the strong flavours of the matcha ice cream.
To end our meal today, I ordered the Matcha Latte. For diehard coffee drinkers, SoloMen Cafe also serves a variety of the coffee and tea.
SoloMen Cafe SS2 Location Address Map
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